Hat form



E. RUPE HAT FORM Nov. 29, 1938.

Filed July 1, 1936 f INVENTOR! BY i o Q M & 'ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov; 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to hat forms of the type that are used in hat forming machines wherein the hats are shaped on the forms under the influence of pressure.

These hat forms have, in the past, been constructed of rubber covered with various Woven fabrics. The function of these fabrics, which cover the crown and brim, has been to present a smooth surface tothe material of which the hat is being formed and to prevent the material from adhering to the rubber of which the form is constructed.

It is unnecessary to have a covering on the crown of the forms that are now in use except to prevent the adhesion that has been referred to above as the material of which the hat is being formed is not injured materially during the pressing operation but it is desirable to have the brim of the form covered with a soft material to prevent the injury of the hat material during the pressing operation.

Covered or uncovered the form must be flexible so that it will adjust itself to the dies when subjected to pressure.

My invention contemplates a form that has all of the advantages of the fabric covered forms and yet is one that has both the crown and brim essentially of rubber of such characteristics that the crown will be smooth and the brim will be soft.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a hat form. embodying one form of my invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a modification.

In the form of the invention disclosed in Figure 1 the body 5 of the form is constructed of relatively soft, resilient, vulcanized rubber, the crown and the brim being integral as usual. The crown is covered with relatively thin rubber 2. This rubber 2 is a relatively hard, vulcanized rubber and yet it is not so hard that it will not flex and compress under the pressure that is used in the formation of hats. 'It, however, is sufficiently hard so that it will not become tacky under the influence of the heat that is used in the formation of the hats. The crown thus formed will have the necessary flexibility because the thin sheet of hard rubber Will not materially add to its rigidity, it will present a smooth surface to the hat material so the hat may be slipped from the form and it Will not become tacky. Many rubbers of the characteristics above enumerated are now commercially on the market.

It is not desirable to cover the brim of the form with the relatively hard rubber because it will injure the hat material when pressure'is applied and as both the top and bottom of the hat brim are visible when a hat is in use it will 5 render the hat unsalable.

The rim of the form is covered with a relatively soft, vulcanized rubber 3 that carries a fibrous material 4 on its exposed surface. This rubber is also commercially on the market and is known 10 as. suede rubber.

' In the form of the invention disclosed in Figure 2 a piece of fabric 5 is located between the base rubber l and the rubber sheet 3. This fabric is, preferably, porous and of such a weave that 15 it may be stretched in all directions to facilitate application.

In either form of the invention the various elements are vulcanized together to form a unitary structure.

The form is constructed in the following manner: the unvulcanized rubber I is placed upon the mold that is commonly used and the thin sheet of unvulcanized relatively hard rubber 2 applied thereto. Then the rubber 3, having the fibrous 5 surface 4, and which may or may not have been vulcanized is placed on the surface of the brim of the form. This assemblage is then placed in a pressure vulcanizing machine which vulcanizes the form into a unitary structure and at the 3 same time presses the form into shape.

The construction of the form in this mannerresults in a unitary structure in which the component rubber elements are all vulcanized together and yet one that has all of the desirable 5 characteristics such as. smoothness, stability and freedom from tackiness during use.

The presence of the fabric 5 is sometimes desirable when it is desired to increase the softness on the brim of the form. Because of its 40 porous form the rubber l and the rubber 3 are vulcanized together through the fabric, thus producing a unitary structure in spite of the presence of the fabric.

What I claim is: v

1. In a hat form for shaping machines, a vul-' canized soft rubber base, a relatively thin vulcanized hard rubber covering for the crown, and a vulcanized rubber covering on the brim and having a fibrous exposed surface.

2. In a hat form for shaping machines, a vulcanized soft rubber base, a relatively thin vulcanized hard rubber covering for the crown, and a vulcanized rubber covering on the brim and having a fibrous exposed surface, and a porous, 55

4. Themethod of producing a hat form which includes covering a mold. with unvulcanized soft rubber to form a crown and a brim, covering the crown with a relatively thin unvulcanized hard rubber mix, covering the brim with a porous 5 soft fabric, covering said fabric with rubber having a fibrous outer surface and subjecting the assemblage to heat and pressure.

ENRICO RUPE. 

